Worcester native Matt Aselton eyes art heists in 'Lying and Stealing'

Tuesday

WORCESTER — When Worcester native Matt Aselton was reading about some famous art heists, he was struck by what a steal they could be.

Take the case of the 1990 theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where 13 works of art valued at a combined total of $500 million were stolen.

"I was quite taken by how simple — two guys pretending to be cops just walked in," Aselton said.

Some thoughts evidently stole into the filmmaker's mind while in Los Angeles and "stumbling into parties from time to time. All the drinking and all these art works."

Aselton, who graduated from Burncoat Senior High School and comes from a large family here, hasn't forgotten about Worcester either and makes return journeys.

But in Aselton's movie crime drama "Lying and Stealing" — which he directed and co-wrote, and which will be released in select theaters July 12 — Ivan (played by Theo James) is a gifted and discerning art thief who wants out while Elyse (Emily Ratajkowski) is an aspiring actress and a con woman whose own past transgressions in Hollywood haunt her. They team up for a big, daring heist that could set them free — if all goes well.

"It takes place in L.A. It's sort of a neo-noir art heist," Aselton said of "Lying and Stealing," which he directed from a script he co-wrote with Adam Nagata.

Ivan and Elyse are "kind of two grifters coming together to steal from the wealthy." At one point in the film Ivan notes that the accomplished bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks. Sutton remarked, "Because that's where the money is." If Sutton were alive today he wouldn't be robbing banks, he'd be robbing the wealthy, Ivan says. Aselton noted that a shiny stainless steel "bunny" sculpture created by Jeff Koons in 1986 sold at Christie’s earlier this year for $91.1 million. Fortunately for the film in terms of timing, Koons had given his approval for "Lying and Stealing" to make a fake bunny.

Breaking into a wealthy home and making off with the loot is one thing. Breaking through with a successful movie can be quite another matter.

"Lying and Stealing" is Aselton's second feature film. His first was "Gigantic" in 2008.

He's had a successful career, including writing and directing a number of commercials. Since 2010, Aselton has been a director and partner in Arts and Sciences, which does a variety of creative projects.

There were some promising early auguries for "Lying and Stealing" when Aselton — who now lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Sara, and daughter and son — was being interviewed by telephone recently.

He was just a few days away from a special premiere of the film in New York City. "It is exciting. I've been living with it (the movie) for quite some time," he said.

James (Tobias "Four" Eaton in the "Divergent" series film trilogy) and Ratajkowski (almost an icon already from her modelling and social media presence alone, in addition to having good acting credentials) had been giving interviews. Their fans were buzzing.

Aselton was prepared to have a healthy skepticism about some of the other seemingly great buzzes because they were so early. "Mostly stuff you don't trust." However, he was enthused that his mother, who has moved from Worcester to Cape Cod, was going to be attending the premiere.

"My mom's coming down, which is the sweetest thing in the world," he said.

Afterward, Aseleton texted to a reporter, "Premiere was great."

Aselton said that when he was growing up in Worcester he always had an interest in movies. A group that included brothers, cousins and friends would often be "watching the same movies over and over again."

After graduating from Burncoat he went to Williams College in Williamstown where he majored in English literature and was the captain of the football team.

At Williams there were "not a ton of film theory classes but enough to let you know there was a world you could break into," Asleton said.

It wasn't quite a "Lying and Stealing" type break in. After graduating from college, "I was sort of floundering." He spent some time painting houses in Maine while writing and taking photographs, and then took a job in advertising.

Working in that field, "I met directors who took me under their wing and kind of walked in the back door that way."

One was Bennett Miller, who has directed commercials for AT&T, Virgin Blue Airlines and other businesses, and also helmed the acclaimed 2005 movie "Capote" as well as "Moneyball" (2011). Another, Phil Morrison, has directed the "Get a Mac" spots for Apple and the sweet comedy-drama "Junebug (2005). "Just watching the guys take that next step, making decisions what they wanted out of their scripts, was a huge thing for me to witness," Aselton said.

Among Aselton's commercials are a series of spots for the Old Spice line of grooming products sold by Procter & Gamble.

"Gigantic," which Aselton also co-wrote with Nagata, is a quirky comedy about Brian (Paul Dano), a single 28-year-old high end mattress salesman who wants to adopt a baby from China. Brian's life becomes more complicated when he falls for young, wealthy Harriet (Zooey Deschanel) when she visits the mattress store. Ed Asner and John Goodman play their respective fathers.

The film received mixed reviews after its commercial release in 2009. The late Roger Ebert wrote, "On the basis of 'Gigantic,' Matt Aselton can make a fine and original film."

"It's a first film," Aselton said. There was a short shooting schedule, but he wasn't using that in any way as an excuse. The casting sometimes went smoothly, and other times was the result of a long pursuit. "I had exciting actors to to work with. I like an ensemble where everyone has a voice ...

"I think it ('Gigantic') did OK. It lived in the shadow. You go to the Toronto Film Festival and realize it's playing the same day as 'The Hurt Locker' ... It wasn't the Indie darling it was supposed to be, but it gave me an understanding of the market,"

Ebert's review had concluded, "Matt Aselton's next film might be a marvel."

Now it's ten years later.

By the very nature of its story, "Lying and Stealing" is a more commercial film, Asleton said.

It has gone through the "Independent film life cycle" with the script being finished 2016-17, and then the project "re-booted" in 2017.

Once again, Aselton likes the cast that came together. Ratajkowski "was terrific. She was great. She got the script and took to it," he said.

"I'd love it ('Lying and Stealing') to find its audience and pivot off it to develop more TV, more movies. I hope it hits."

Asked about putting on a premiere of one of his movies back in Worcester, Asleton said, "I'd love that. That would be a treat."

He still has lots of family friends and family back here, and said he comes back for visits.

"I'll pop in and see all the gang, who always seem to focus on the fact that I'm 'so Hollywood' now, even though I live in Brooklyn," he said perfectly fondly.

"There's something about the Worcester crowd that won't let you forget."